Bryce Building
Why it's listed
Located at 909 Throckmorton Street in downtown Fort Worth, this two-story masonry office building was completed in 1910 and takes an unusual five-sided shape from the small lot it occupies. Its simplified Renaissance Revival design includes brick piers, cast-stone capitals and cornice, a wrought-iron balcony and a carved frieze bearing the name Bryce Building. A metal exterior staircase serves the second floor. The building was built by William J. Bryce, a Scottish-born contractor who settled in Fort Worth in 1883. His firm constructed major local buildings, including the Armour Packing Plant and the Texas Brewery, and he later served on the commission that drafted the city charter, on the first city council under it, and as mayor from 1927 to 1933. He kept his offices on the ground floor and leased the upper floor to groups such as the Order of Aztecs and the Tarrant County Democratic Party. A fire in late 1982 damaged the interior, and restoration was beginning when the property was nominated.
Significance in brief: The building is closely tied to the career of William J. Bryce, a prominent Fort Worth contractor, business leader and mayor from 1927 to 1933. He ran his business from the ground floor and leased the upper floor to local organizations. It is also an unusual, little-altered example of Renaissance Revival design shaped to an irregular lot.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 84001963, listed February 23, 1984. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 909 Throckmorton St., Fort Worth |
|---|---|
| County | Tarrant County |
| Listed | February 23, 1984 |
| Reference number | 84001963 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1900- |
| Architect / builder | William J. Bryce, Builder |
| Architectural style | Renaissance Revival (simplified) |
| Areas of significance | Commerce, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Interior damaged by fire in late 1982; the last tenant, a restaurant, vacated and restoration had begun at the time of nomination. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 32.75116, -97.33044 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For an income-producing building, listing (individually or as a contributing building in a district) is the gateway to the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit on qualified rehabilitation costs, often stackable with state credits. Work claiming the credit must follow the Secretary of the Interior's Standards and be approved in advance.
Listing does not restrict a private owner acting without federal money or permits; where federal funding or licensing is involved, Section 106 review applies.
Noted as vacant in the nomination. Nomination documents can be decades old; current status may differ. If you are considering buying an empty listed property, read the due-diligence checklist.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 84001963.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q4980662
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.